


Like You're Glass

by StrawRopeGhost



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Murder, Bonding, Character Death, Denial of Feelings, F/F, Guilt, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kiyo's Freetime Events, Kiyo's sister is mentioned, M/M, On Hiatus, Pink Blood (Dangan Ronpa), Sad Saihara Shuichi, Slow Burn, Survivor Guilt, Tags May Change, korekiyo redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:55:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27881837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawRopeGhost/pseuds/StrawRopeGhost
Summary: Shuichi simply can't do it anymore. Too many people have died. To distract himself from the pain, he confides in an unlikely friend.They learn to help each other heal.*spoilers for DRV3*
Relationships: Chabashira Tenko/Yumeno Himiko (Referenced), Saihara Shuichi & Shinguji Korekiyo, Saihara Shuichi/Shinguji Korekiyo
Comments: 7
Kudos: 40





	Like You're Glass

**Author's Note:**

> Did I change around the events of Drv3 because I felt like Kiyo should have gotten a redemption arc? Yup. 
> 
> Basically, what if someone else had killed Angie? 
> 
> Also K1-B0 = Kiibo in this fic

"It's punishment time!"

"Run, Kirumi!"

Shuichi had no idea if she heard him or not. Maybe she did, because she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, until she was surrounded by unidentifiable faces. Shuichi felt the heat - the heat of guilt rising to his cheeks. It had to be guilt because he felt like he was on fire. He had caused this. But if he hadn't, that could be him climbing up that rope of thorns, being cut by hundreds of saws on the way up. Shuichi admired Kirumi's determination. He could feel that everyone did. Surely, if anyone could (or even deserved to) escape, it'd be Kirumi. 

"Come on, you can do this," he muttered. 

She was mostly bare of clothing. Covered in her own blood. The magenta color stained each metal saw and thorn that touched her. Yet she was still going. She reached up, her exit out, only to touch a stone cold ceiling and childish drawing. What a despairing way to die. The thorny vine, unable to support her any longer, snapped and she fell to her death. That damned green monokub shoved one of his own siblings directly underneath her, and he was crushed by the impact of her falling body. Shuichi cringed and covered his ears when he heard that sickening crunch of bone. He couldn't watch anymore. 

Nobody said anything on the way out of that room. How could they? All Kirumi did was take care of them. Yet, now she was gone. Shuichi left the elevator silently. It was dark. Kiibo, thank god, was the first to speak. 

"I believe the most rational course of action would be for us to rest."

"Nyeh... You're right," Himiko yawned. 

Everyone began to throw out their useless input. Input that Shuichi paid little attention to. He couldn't get the sight of Kirumi's last moments out of his mind. Gonta said something about the stars which snapped Shuichi out of his thoughts. Something about how they weren't the same. 

"Different? You mean the position of the stars?" The first words he said since her death. And it wasn't even about her. 

"Gonta no can find star he remembers. Maybe we were taken somewhere far away?"

_Far away._

_Far away? Could it-_

"Let's head back already. I'm wiped out," Kaito interrupted. 

Shuichi was too distracted to dwindle on the thought much longer. "Yeah, let's-"

"Wait!" It was Kokichi. "I have to tell you guys somethin'."

Everyone turned their attention to Kokichi, who had a childish grin on his face. He was planning something. 

"What is it, twerp? I'm tired."

"Now now. This won't take long, so just listen."

Shuichi saw Korekiyo perk up, more interested in this than some of the other conversations he'd overheard. Though, Shuichi figured it had something to do with the fact that the taller male didn't exactly like Kokichi and probably wanted to go back to his room. 

"What is it?" He asked softly. No hostility in his voice, though his eyes gleamed with anticipation. 

"You all like to treat me like a compulsive liar."

_You are,_ Shuichi thought.

"But there's a way worse liar than me in our group."

"Worse than you?" Shuichi deadpanned. 

"I'm talking about Maki."

Kokichi grinned sharply. It was so eerie, so sinister. Maki shot him a dark look. Everyone, especially Kaito, questioned or challenged Kokichi's statement. 

"She admitted it during the trial, remember? Ryoma wanted her to show him his motive video so he'd have a reason to live. That's not the whole story though, he was blackmailing you, wasn't he?" Kokichi smirked. "Ryoma happened to discover Maki's _true_ identity. So he used it to blackmail her. Probably said something like 'show me my motive video or I'll tell everyone what you are'. That's why she didn't want us to know she met with him. She didn't want us to know so she kept quite until last minute."

"What kind of shit are you making up now?" Kaito snapped. 

The sinister look returned to Kokichi's face. "I've known her identity the whole time."

Within seconds, Maki was on him. At first Shuichi thought she'd ran off until he saw her, gripping Kokichi's throat and almost holding him over the fountain. 

"What an interesting turn of events... But.. Would you really... Kill me in.. front of everyone?"

He was struggling not to gasp. 

"Maki, what the hell is going on?"

"Go on. You can probably snap my neck like a twig. But you'd rather kill from the shadows... That's your style, right..? Miss _Ultimate Assassin."_

* * *

The last thing Shuichi ever expected of Kokichi was for him to tell the truth. 

"I told you. She's not the ultimate child caregiver. She's the ultimate assassin."

"Did you learn that from the motive video?"

Monokuma had stated their talents in their motive videos. Kokichi must have seen Maki's... Right?

"Obviously I already knew. Given my position~"

"Position?"

"Don't worry. That's a lie~ Her reaction yesterday gave it away."

"But why would she lie about being the ultimate child caregiver?" Korekiyo asked, his voice once again soft. 

Miu laughed. "Because assassins lie to cover their tracks!"

"Maybe she was planning to kill us," Tsumugi suggested. 

"If she was, why hasn't she done it by now? She had plenty of chances," Kiibo said. 

"Robots don't understand human feelings."

"I can too!"

After a few more people threw their unwanted opinions into the bickering, Kiyo's snickering got everyone to focus on the topic at hand. 

"To have the talent of a killer. That is the biggest threat to those who wish to survive."

"Let's just lock her up," Miu remarked. "She can't hurt anyone that way."

"Nyeh, I'll leave that to Gonta. What a pain..."

"W-What?"

"I'll help too," Tenko chimed in. 

Shuichi felt lost in a sea of comments. What did Maki think about all this? How could she even think about all this? Shuichi was losing his mind. 

"Wait! It's uh.. Not like she's trying to kill us, there's no need to go that far-"

"A sneak attack," Tenko shouted. Clearly none of them had heard a word he said. 

"Leave Maki to me. I'll handle it," Kaito finally said. 

"Kaito don't do something stupid-"

"Okay Kaito she's your problem now," Kokichi chirped. 

Shuichi groaned. He observed the weapons that were strung up and strewn out through the room. For some reason he didn't want to acknowledge the fact that Kokichi was telling the truth, though the distraction was nice. A temporary distraction from the fact that he had gotten two people killed. In a case of 'kill one to save the many', Shuichi guessed he'd made the right choice, had done the right thing. But his 'right choice' got Kaede and Kirumi killed. He'd never forgive himself over it. The detective almost wished people would start bickering again just so he didn't have those gruesome memories painted in his mind. Shuichi wanted to shove them into the darkest part of his enigmatic brain and forget. He sighed, walking out of Maki's lab and down to the library so he could get a book before going back to his dorm. 

* * *

"Good morning, Shuichi."

The one to greet him had been none other than Korekiyo, who was sitting at the table in the dining hall with a cup of tea. The bluenette noticed he still had that strange looking mask on. 

"Good morning, Kiyo."

Shuichi thought back to the time he'd spent with Korekiyo after Kaede's death. It was a... Pleasant distraction to say the least. He'd learned about the difference between anthropology, history, and archaeology, since Korekiyo had the patience to teach him. Shuichi still didn't quite understand, but then again, he was a detective, not an anthropologist. Though, when he entertained the thought, the two fields would certainly go hand in hand. 

"Would you like to join me? I could make you some tea, if you'd like. I imagine you're rather unsettled."

Shuichi turned his head to look at him. _How did he know?_

"You don't have to go through that trouble."

"Nonsense. Please, sit."

Kiyo gestured to the seat beside him. Shuichi hesitantly sat next to the taller boy, who stood up to get another cup. 

"Any preference?"

Shuichi shook his head. 

"Then jasmine would be sufficient?"

He nodded. Kiyo soon sat next to him, setting a cup in front of Shuichi. When the smell of tea hit his nose, it briefly chased away the cloud of anxiety that hung over his head. He brought the hot cup to his lips, sipping at the liquid that soon soothed the mild sore feeling in his throat. How many tears would he shed during this game? He tried not to think about it, just live in this moment with a comforting cup of tea. Shuichi peered over at Kiyo who brought his own cup up to his lips. He still had his mask on. Shuichi half expected it to slosh onto the fabric and all over his clothes but it just... Didn't. He watched Korekiyo bring a cookie up to his mask and it disappeared, just like the tea. Shuichi, forgetting about his own drink, was now trying to figure out how he did it. He couldn't really tell if he'd unzipped the zipper unless he got directly in the anthropologist's face. He knew that it wouldn't end well, considering he'd seen Kokichi do it and had Kiyo not had an impressive amount of self control, he would have likely strung the small boy up by his ankles. 

Shuichi then wondered if maybe he leaned a little to far in the wrong direction because Korekiyo looked directly at him with one of his thin eyebrows cocked upward. He slowly leaned back into his chair, Kiyo's golden gaze still fixed on him. 

"What is the matter?" he asked softly, tilting his head to the side a bit. 

"Uh... The cookie just disappeared."

"That's because I put it in my mouth. Truthfully if you are fascinated by such things, your world must be very small. If you desire, I could open it a bit more through anthropology."

Shuichi nodded shyly. He saw the corners of Korekiyo's eyes crease, a sign he was at the very least, amused. 

"I am please. Let us begin, shall we? Now, there are several different types of anthropology. Social-cultural, physical and biosocial, archaeological, linguistic, and applied anthropology. Interestingly enough, anthropology is..."

This was a much better way to spend his mornings. Especially since a few hours ago, Shuichi was lying awake in his bed, sobbing silently into his sheets. Throughout the entire lecture, he wondered how Korekiyo felt. He wondered if it kept him up until 3 am with tears in his eyes and no comfort aside from the blankets and pillows. Probably not. The only real emotion he saw from Kiyo during the executions was him flinch, screw his eyes shut, and cover his ears. And he did it twice. Once when the piano crushed Kaede, the second time being when Kirumi fell to her death. Every other time, he barely batted an eyelash, aside from Rantaro's death. He seemed more shocked than anything else, maybe a little sad. Rantaro was really the only one who wasn't somehow afraid of Korekiyo. 

Shuichi hardly realized he was losing himself to his thoughts and unintentionally tuning Kiyo out. He was losing himself in his grief. Though, he figured the relief would only be temporary. Korekiyo clearing his throat helped bring him out of his little void. 

"You seem distracted, Shuichi. Are you feeling well?"

"I'm sorry, I just thought about what happened yesterday. I went a little too deep into my mind, I guess."

Korekiyo sighed, putting his elbows on the table, intertwining his fingers together before pressing the bridge of his nose against his fingers. "Might I offer you some advice in attempt to console you?"

Shuichi, again, nodded shyly.

"Grief is a normal reaction to death. One might say grieving makes one human. Everyone deals with grief differently. Sadness, anger, and guilt are all normal emotions to feel. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you believe their deaths were your fault, don't you?"

"I..." Shuichi could feel his throat stinging a little bit. 

"Shuichi. It's not your fault. This may seem harsh but life is full of unfair death. Their lives, though short, were still beautiful nonetheless, yes?"

"Why does it," he paused. Shuichi could feel his eyes beginning to sting and his cheeks heat up from sheer embarrassment. "Why does it hurt so bad?"

"Because you cared about them, and you still do. If you need a moment, I can leave the room-"

"Stay. Please."

Kiyo hesitantly extended a hand and lightly patted Shuichi's shoulder. That was as good as the physical comfort was going to get, and even then Korekiyo seemed a little bit uncomfortable. It wasn't his fault that anyone died, but it hurt. If it wasn't his fault, why did he feel so guilty?

**Author's Note:**

> Kiyo comforting a sad Shuichi? More likely than you think. Slightly ooc but it'll make sense pretty soon. 
> 
> Also I've had to/will continue to have to go back and rewatch his freetime events several times to write this fic (dating events are included too), I apologize if the timeline is a bit wonky.


End file.
